The Semicolon

Although the semicolon is used less frequently in some genres of writing, it is still common in standard edited English. For example, the following is a sentence you read in the colon section.

Standard

The dependent clause is in bold; the independent clause is in italics.

You would be correct in arguing that you could also have made each of those two phrases into a sentence of its own, but what’s helpful about a semicolon is that it connects two independent clauses that you want to show an equal relationship between as in the example above.

1. The semicolon’s main job is to separate two equivalent, related independent clauses.

If the clause that precedes the semicolon is independent but the clause that follows it is not, the semicolon is being used incorrectly for standard edited English.

Standard

The semicolon is easy to use well; it’s easy to overuse.

Nonstandard

The semicolon is easy to use well; and easy to overuse.

In the second sentence, the last part of the sentence—“and easy to overuse”—is not an independent clause because there is no subject or verb.

A semicolon also helps out when you have two independent clauses that are joined by an adverbial conjunction (also known as a conjunctive adverb). Some of the most common adverbial conjunctions are in the following list.

Here are some examples of a semicolon and an adverbial conjunction joining two independent clauses. Note that a comma follows the adverbial conjunction in such constructions.

Standard Sentences

I wanted to eat a healthy meal; however, the cafeteria was celebrating National Unhealthy Meal Week.

I complained; therefore, the rule was changed.

I became known as a health nut; consequently, my fiancée broke off our engagement.

Although I was sad, I carried on; moreover, I became happier than ever.

2. The second job of the semicolon is to make a list clear when the use of commas alone would not be able to do so. You do this if the list includes items in a series that have internal parts needing additional commas.

For example, you could write the following:

Standard

I want to travel to Houston, Ashmore, and Chicago.

As you write it, though, you might consider that some of your readers would wonder where “Ashmore” was, so you decide to add the state and, to be consistent, add the states for the other cities as well. You might end up with the following, which is nonstandard:

Nonstandard

I want to travel to Houston, Texas, Ashmore, Vermont, and Chicago, Illinois.

The problem with the sentence above is that all the cities (Houston, Ashmore, and Chicago) look as if they’re ranked with the states in equivalence (Texas, Vermont, and Chicago). For a reader who is not familiar with the U. S., this version of the sentence would be very confusing. Instead, you should show that each city and state is a unit to itself by separating those units with semicolons. The comma separating the city from the state indicates that the city is a part of the state; the semicolon separates the items in the list.

Standard

I want to travel to Houston, Texas; Ashmore, Vermont; and Chicago, Illinois.

Here are some other examples of items in a series with internal parts needing additional commas.

Standard Sentences

I read Shakespeare, who loves words; Chaucer, who loves plots; and Milton, who loves both.

Your assignments are due on Wednesday, September 25; Friday, October 4; and Wednesday, October 16.

This final one is an example where one of the units has a comma within it, which requires all the units to be separated by semicolons.

Standard

Allusions to Shakespeare may occur in sitcoms such as The Office; Good Luck, Charlie; M*A*S*H; or The Dick Van Dyke Show.